Prices in the few rooms that are available in luxury hotel units in Greece are expected to peak during the next few days.
According to a survey conducted by Greek daily “Kathimerini”, occupancy in 5 star hotels in several popular Greek destinations for the period around the 15th of August has reached 100%.
High demand from the beginning of the season has limited the availability of luxury beds early this year, especially in destinations that attract high-income tourists.
One of the largest travel booking agencies estimates that during the period from 11th to 16th of August, the average occupancy of luxury hotels in Santorini, Corfu and Rhodes will reach 99%.
In the 5-star hotels of Mykonos the average occupancy reaches 97% and in Elounda 89%. At the same time, the prices of the remaining rooms and suites in the luxury units of the above areas are very high. Indicatively, the price in a 5-star hotel room in Santorini for 5 nights from August 11th to August 16th can reach up to 40,000 euros. In Corfu, hotel prices rise up to 15,244 euros, in Mykonos up to 11,647 euros, in Elounda up to 7,640 euros and in Rhodes up to 6,200 euros.
According to the latest figures from the Greek Chamber of Commerce, Greece boasts 444 5-star hotels out of a total of 9,730 units. Capacity of 5-star hotels amounts to 67,407 rooms with 137,210 beds while 407,146 rooms with 788,553 beds operate in all hotel categories.
At regional level, most five-star hotels operate in the southern Aegean. In total, in the southern Aegean islands, there are 144 5-star hotel units, with a capacity of 19,715 rooms, with 40,742 beds. Crete is followed by 97 five-star hotels with a capacity of 18,844 rooms and 40,742 beds.
However, based on the results of a study conducted by National Bank for the hotel industry, the share of high-income tourists has fallen in Greece from 27% in 2008 to 23% in 2016.
According to the study, the improvement of the tourist income levels depends on the quality of services offered by hotels, with 5-star units attracting 52% of high-income visitors versus 6% of hotels with few stars.
Also, the study notes that the quality of hotels is not enough to combat the high seasonality of Greek tourism.
This is because the seasonal variations between 5-star hotels and those with less than 2 stars are extremely small, with almost half of the revenue coming from two months of high demand in both cases.
It is also noteworthy that the average European spends 15% less money in Greece than in competitive destinations and 34% less than all international destinations.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
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